What to Watch on Netflix When Everything Good Is Leaving Netflix

Next weekend is going to be another doozy for Netflix watchers—there's an unusual amount of good stuff leaving the service, as another big licensing agreement expires. Been meaning to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer? That'll be gone. Firefly? Another object adrift in space. The X-Files? Just gonna have to trust me when I say the truth is out there now, pal. Bones? Hope you're cool with just Seasons Five , because seasons 1-4 are gonna be gone, baby. And if you were planning an Ally McBeal Netflix party, you'd better schedule it before next Friday.

Of course, a lot of these shows will still be available to stream, just elsewhere—most are on Hulu, and have been for some time! But, instead of you trying to fit in as much as you can of these long-lived shows, maybe now's a good opportunity to try something new that scratches the same itch. Here's a couple ideas:

__Star Trek, always.__ Here's what's great about watching Star Trek shows: There's so damn many of them it actually becomes liberating. Don't think an episode description sounds interesting? Skip it! There are hundreds more! Want to get a sanelyportioned, complete experience? There are guides about the best episodes to watch that cut the insane sprawl of Star Trek: The Next Generation down to a much more manageable 40 episodes. Or if you want a crazy long, beloved saga, just watch all of Deep Space Nine from beginning to end. The funny thing about Star Trek is that it wasn't just influential on sci-fi, it was influential on TV writers, many of whom—like Bryan Fuller, of Hannibal and the forthcoming American Gods—started on a Star Trek show. There's something soothing about a series full of people navigating moral and political dilemmas in space, and while not as florid as a show like The West Wing (another suitable replacement for one of these departed shows) it's just as consistently rich and full of ideas.

Or maybe Person of Interest. One of the tricks old genre shows like The X-Files or Twin Peaks used to pull in the network era was one of subterfuge: They pitched themselves as procedurals or murder mysteries or monster-of-the-week shows, only to slowly grow and change into something smart and subversive. Person of Interest is a bit of a throwback in that way. It starts out as a simple procedural about a machine that can predict crimes before they occur, and then slowly shifts to become a story about the birth of artificial intelligence. It's also the show Jonathan Nolan created before he went on to develop Westworld, so if you miss that show, take a look at the one he did first.

And don't forget Penny Dreadful. One of the most fun things about supernatural shows like Buffy (which is leaving Netflix) or, well, Supernatural (which is not), is how they take what would otherwise be overwrought soap opera melodrama and elevate it using the stuff of horror movies. Insecurities and anxieties become monsters and demons, and sex becomes incredibly complicated when vampires are involved. For three seasons, Penny Dreadful relished in pulp-horror stylings with a premium cable budget, but it was a grand, operatic costume drama in addition to being a monster hunting adventure. Of the shows here, it's also the shortest, and most binge-friendly. It also has Eva Green, who we'd watch in anything.